Uninevitable
by Aesshen
Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.
1. The Good Things In Life

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: This fic is neither completely manga or dorama based. It combines elements of the manga (Shigeru and Sakurako's active participation in the group's social life, all the extra arcs, Kazuya existing, and most importantly, Soujirou and Yuuki sleeping together) with things from the dorama (Tsukasa in Japan at the end, Sara engaged to her potter, the bike existing, and most importantly, Yuuki not giving up on Soujirou). So please bear in mind that this weird mix of the two canons will not be entirely faithful to either. It still should be a fun ride, though.

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

"Cheers!"

Six glasses clinked together, the champagne inside almost leaping in what Soujirou fancied as sympathetic delight. Indeed, the whole world seemed to be sparkling in celebration. And why shouldn't it? This was a glorious day, a day to be remembered, a day that would live forever in the hearts and minds of those who understood its significance. Because today was -

"But seriously, Tsukasa, I was starting to get scared that you and Makino would stay virgins until you got married," said Akira, lying back in his seat in the club's VIP room and looking quite blissful. "I worried, man."

"At least it happened before he turned twenty," said Soujirou. "I was thinking that I couldn't be friends with a twenty-year-old virgin, no matter how long we've been hanging around together."

"At least Rui didn't disgrace us too badly," said Akira, poking the other man in the shoulder. Rui just blinked at him. "But Tsukasa certainly has redeemed himself now."

"We waited so fucking long," said Soujirou, moaning at the very thought. "I remember when I thought it wasn't even possible to graduate middle school with one's _chastity_ intact, but I was young and naïve then. I couldn't even imagine how deep some people's idiocy could go."

"Nishikado-san," Yuuki, champagne glass clutched in two hands, stared at him. She was blushing, of course. "Are you saying that you lost your virginity in – in middle school?"

He grinned at her. Yuuki could be so fun to tease. "When I was twelve. And I don't need to ask about you, Yuuki-chan."

She just blushed and swigged her champagne so fast that she started coughing and had to be patted on the back by Akira, who was sitting next to her.

"And I was thirteen," Akira said, looking nostalgic. Soujirou grimaced. The maid thing still sounded a lot better in retrospect than it had been in the moment. Akira hadn't quite been so mentally prepared to be a player then.

Sakurako, already a little bit buzzed, was giggling, obviously wanting to be asked when she'd first had sex. But everyone was probably too scared to ask. Soujirou didn't think she'd tell them the truth if they did.

Shigeru tapped her fingers against her chin speculatively. "Twelve, thirteen, seventeen for Rui-kun, and as for Tsukushi and Tsukasa -"

"THAT'S IT!" The guests of honor at the little celebration finally stopped sulking in their corner - they had, of course, refused to participate in the toast - to unleash a barrage of verbal abuse at their friends, who were variously smirking, paying no attention, and still coughing (poor Yuuki).

"Just because some of you guys are _impure_ and always have been -"

"I don't even know why you're _bragging_ about your commitment issues, Nishikado-san -"

"At least my first time was with someone other than, what's her name, Norita Manami, or your fucking maid -"

"And don't go teasing Yuuki, too, when you know very well that she -"

"I don't know why we have to sit here and listen to this kind of effuse when we could be -"

"That's abuse, Tsukasa, and anyway, what a pair of consenting adults do in the privacy of - well, the privacy of, umm -"

"At least I, unlike a certain someone I know, didn't get too excited halfway through and -"

"It's really none of your business what happens to us, especially when you lot are already so depraved, and do not grin at me like that, Sakurako -"

"It was a great success, probably better than anything you bastards have ever done with any of those ugly bitches you -"

"But wasn't it uncomfortable, doing it in a park?"

There was a moment of deepest silence.

"Rui!"

Tsukasa punched him and Tsukushi looked seriously tempted to. Everyone else was snickering, though in Yuuki's case it might more fairly be called giggling.

"But really, we're happy for you guys," Soujirou said. And he was. This was it, now. This was the last thing short of marriage necessary to bind them together forever. Because, god damn it, if he had to deal with another Tsukasa-Makino breakup situation, he'd just shoot which ever of them was being most annoying at that moment and let them realize how much they needed each other that way. Hospitalization had been known to work wonders for them.

"And this is really great, Tsukushi," Yuuki piped up. "You've even started calling each other by your first names."

"Well... that is..." Tsukushi entered one of her rare bashful states, playing with the hem of her skirt and looking anywhere but Tsukasa.

"That's because when we get married, she'll be Doumyouji Tsukushi, and it won't make any sense to call her Makino anymore!" Tsukasa practically chirped. Being reminded of something like this seemed to dispel his bad mood instantly. "And it's the same for her. She can't call me Doumyouji because she'll be Doumyouji too!"

"He's like a three-year-old when he gets happy like this," Akira whispered to Soujirou, who nodded.

"I don't get how he can be happy about the idea of marriage. Getting tied down to one girl for the rest of his life –"

"It's disgusting, right?"

"Right!" Soujirou grinned at him. "It'll never happen to me."

"Oh, you say that now!" Shigeru said. She was in high spirits, probably due to the champagne. "But I know better. Someday you'll come across a girl so perfect that even you, Soujirou-kun –"

"Impossible," said Akira.

"Absolutely not happening," said Tsukasa.

"What they said," said Rui.

The girls all laughed. Soujirou spared a glance at Yuuki, but she seemed unaffected by the joking. That was good. Teasing was one thing, but it wouldn't do to actually upset her. Tsukushi would kill him, for one thing.

"It is nice, though, isn't it?" Shigeru continued. "True love, and all that!"

"If this is true love, I don't want any part of it," said Sakurako. "At least if it means having to act as dumb as Makino-senpai."

"As dumb as Tsukasa, you mean," said Akira.

"No, I think that she beats him."

"Definitely not. You know that she –"

The conversation devolved into three-way argument between Sakurako, Shigeru, and Akira over who was stupider of the Tsukushi-Tsukasa pair – Soujirou, who couldn't decide himself, stayed out of it. Rui watched them, snickering occasionally. Tsukasa and Tsukushi themselves had gone off somewhere, and were going to get teased terribly when they came back.

That left him and Yuuki to talk to each other.

It wasn't a problem. He liked talking to Yuuki. She was simply fun to be around. But the fact that she still had not given up on him, even after that one night together, sometimes made him feel – suffocated – just being around her. She had never mentioned it, never tried to hold it against him. Of course, Yuuki of all people would never do something like that. She was far too kind. But it was that very kindness that sometimes made him feel like he didn't deserve to be breathing the same air as her.

As he said, suffocating.

"So how's school, Yuuki-chan?" It was odd that he had to start the conversation. She normally had some topic ready for him.

"Oh, really good. Our exams just ended, so I have a lot of free time right now. It's wonderful."

She had a lot of free time? That was odd. He'd thought that he hadn't heard much from her recently, and had assumed it was because of her tests. "Exams are brutal, aren't they? That's my least favorite time of year."

"Oh, but I'm sure you've never needed to worry that much about your grades," she said, smiling. From any other girl, this would have been meaningless flattery. The worst part about Yuuki was that she meant it.

"Despite appearances, I am just a normal human being," he said with a laugh. "Don't rate me too highly."

She laughed, too. "I think I rate you very accurately indeed."

The comment stopped him cold for a moment. Of course, he managed to keep up the conversation (he was Nishikado Soujirou, after all), but even after Tsukasa and Tsukushi came back and Yuuki turned to talk to her friend, her words were on his mind.

Accurately? Rated him accurately? Yuuki did? Well, of course, that was probably true. She knew him as well as anyone did, and certainly better than any other woman. But it was one thing to feel understood by a person, and quite another to feel judged.

Of course she judged him. She had judged him and found him perfect enough to dedicate herself to him, even if it had only been for so many months two years ago. But the way she had made it sound now – it was as if the scales had fallen from her eyes. Did she see him, now, as human, and not as the man of her dreams?

That was better, of course. That was much better. Yuuki was his friend, and he hated to think of her hurting, as he knew being in love with him had hurt her. Platonic friendship – it was to achieve that between them that he had slept with her. So it had worked. After a year to let the effects sink in, it had finally worked.

He grimaced. He tried not to think about that night – that morning, really – if he could avoid it. The problem, though, was the way his mind drifted to it when it had nothing else to fix upon. Of course he was attracted to her, and it wasn't odd that he hadn't been able to get it out of his system in one go, but it could never happen again. Because Yuuki was his friend, his good and loyal friend, it could never happen again.

As they left the restaurant, she waved at him once, smiling brightly. It was the same farewell she gave to all the other boys. Sakurako, who lived in the same direction and was dead drunk anyway, was clinging to her and talking very quickly and very incomprehensibly about the car that was supposed to be picking them up.

"Yo, Soujirou, do you need a ride?" Akira asked.

"Nah," he said, grinning at his friend. "I've got my bike."

"Are you sure? You had your share to drink."

Trust Akira, everyone's mother, to act like this. "I'm fine, you old woman. Hey, look at Tsukasa and Makino. They never kiss in public like that."

Akira looked. Soujirou took the chance to steal a glance back at Yuuki and Sakurako – if Sakurako started throwing up, someone might have to help them – but they were already gone, dissolved into the late night crowd.

He blinked at the spot where they'd been. Riding home that night, feeling the wind on his face and the vibration of the bike under him, he thought that Akira was probably right that he shouldn't be on a motorcycle. He had obviously had way too much to drink.

XXXXX

Read and review, please! I want to know if I got Soujirou's internal voice right. He's a tricky one.


	2. Reasonable Concerns

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I actually have 17 chapters of this planned out right now, though none of them go very long, and 7 chapters written. I'm thinking that the fic will probably be 20-25 chapters in total, so stick with me! Also, though it approaches cliché, reviews, plz.

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

Vocabulary: Only the one word.

**Aniki**: a fairly disrespectful but possibly affectionate word for an older brother. Younger siblings in Japan rarely call their older siblings by their first names.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

Soujirou was starting to worry.

No – not to worry, exactly. This was not being worried. One worried that, say, Tsukasa would eventually kill someone who looked at Makino the wrong way, or that Rui would die in a terrible, fiery car crash and bring some poor innocent (like Soujirou) with him, or that Akira would finally snap and try to hang himself just to get away from the color pink. These were the legitimate concerns of responsible people. Yuuki not calling him for a week was not.

She was probably busy. _He_ was certainly busy. What a busy time of year February was! He'd been clubbing every night of the last week. On Saturday he'd seen Hiromi-chan, and on Sunday he'd seen Saeko and Tooru-chan, and then he'd taken a short break before seeing Naoko-chan on Tuesday and Thursday. On Friday she'd brought her sister along, too – what was her name? It didn't matter. He had it in his cell phone anyway.

Well, it was Saturday again, and he was not worried. There was no reason to be. He had a lovely bottle of vodka in front of him, and two lovely girls (their names – what were their _names_?) on his lap. Akira had a girl on his arm, too, though she was probably a bit young for his tastes, so Soujirou was not optimistic about her chances of scoring with him. Rui was actually engrossed in a serious conversation about, literally, apples and oranges with a girl Soujirou was pretty certain had taken some kind of club drug, and Tsukasa was happily telling the two very displeased young women who had latched on to him about Makino Tsukushi's many virtues.

It was, all in all, an ideal situation. The very fact that they'd managed to get Tsukasa to go out with them at all was a victory. He and Tsukushi had been otherwise engaged every night of the last week. Soujirou supposed they were making up for lost time. Certainly, Tsukushi was looking even cuter, now. He hadn't ever really stuck around to find out, but he supposed that thing about sex improving a girl's looks was true.

He wasn't mentioning any of that to Tsukasa, though. A face like Soujirou's was a terrible thing to waste – or to get wasted by one's violent, rampaging best friends.

"Yui-chan," he said, suddenly remembering. He knew he hadn't forgotten it. It had been like a little prick at his brain to meet a girl named Yui when he was thinking so hard about not thinking about Yuuki.

"Yes?" the girl to his left, smiling coyly.

Oh, damn, had he said that out loud? He'd just been trying so hard to remember. Names were so difficult when you were only introduced to people after you'd started drinking. "I was just wondering if you and –" _god damn it, I know this _"– Raika-chan knew each other very well."

The girls blinked at each other. "No, we just met tonight."

"Why do you ask, Nishikado-san?"

"Just wondering," he said, smiling from one to the other. "I was thinking that it was great for two such pretty girls to be friends."

They blushed so hard that he almost thought he felt it through his shirt. That could just have been the vodka, but he wasn't complaining.

"Let's all get along well from now on, hmm?" he murmured, leaning in to kiss one of them, softly, just brushing at her lips. Someone had once told him that he had a talent for dyeing even chaste gestures in the colors of sex. The other one, the unkissed one, pouted a little until he had her lips too, deeper and longer than the first.

Time passed in a blur. He came back to himself when he had both of them below him, had them clutching at the sheets of the hotel bed. He wasn't sure how he had got here, but that didn't matter. Sometimes, when it was this good, he almost felt what people called love for these women, for their softness, for the sounds they made and the way they looked at him. It was fun. It really was fun. He could never be dissatisfied, surely, as long as there were women who smiled at him like that after a kiss, who made those sounds in the moment of climax. He was happy. There was nothing wrong.

Once he was done, he pulled up the covers over them and checked his cell phone.

Rumi-chan had called, and so had Wakasa. He had texts from Erika, Emi-chan, and Chihiro. It was only about one o'clock, still, and about three hours since the last time he had looked at the phone.

He scrolled through the list of messages one more time. He bit his lip, frowned, put down the phone, and went to bed beside the two girls whose names he had forgotten once again.

XXXXX

He had breakfast at home, which was nice. Apparently his mother had cooked. She did that sometimes. She said that a true Japanese wife had to have the skills, even if she rarely used them.

His father wasn't home – well, what was new – but his little brother was, looking sleepy but suspiciously happy.

"Yo, Kei," he said, once their mother was out of earshot.

"Yeah, aniki?"

"Something good happen? You're grinning."

The kid grinned. "Chika finally let me go all the way last night."

Keizaburou was nothing like Soujirou, but he had had his share of girls (the good looks ran in the family, of course). That was why it had been something of a surprise for him to fall quite completely for one of his classmates at Eitoku. A surprise – but not a bad one. "That's good. How was it?"

"Aniki, I'm not telling you!"

And that, Soujirou thought, was how you could tell the boy was serious about her. "Heh. You and Tsukasa both. This is a good week."

"Doumyouji-san? What'd he do?"

"Nothing for you to think too hard about. Are you going to call her today?"

"Who, Chika? Should I?"

"Definitely. She'll worry otherwise. Girls really hate it when they can't get into contact with you for too long. And the bigger the thing that just happened between you is, the more this applies."

Keizaburou nodded. He had long since learned to accept his older brother's advice on such matters without argument. "Got it. Thanks, aniki."

"Anytime." Soujirou grinned at him, and went off to his own room. He let himself collapse on the bed.

It did really suck to be ignored. Yuuki knew that. She had to have some reason not to have called. For an entire week… usually he got a text from her about daily, and calls somewhat less frequently than that. And he usually texted her back, too. Had he forgotten? Had he said something wrong? No, he would have known if he'd messed up like that. He wasn't, say, Tsukasa. He had a brain in his head.

Maybe she was sick. That was conceivable. She had been so quiet at the party last Friday. If she was getting ill…

Before he had quite realized it he had dialed Tsukushi's number on his cell. He almost hung up when he realized what he was doing, but that would have been even more ridiculous. He knew why he was concerned, and he knew why he was concerned about his own concern. It was strange to be ignored by a girl he was on such good terms with, and as her friend, he had something of a responsibility to look after her. But because of their history, this was a little dangerous for him. To pry too hard –

Mercifully, Tsukushi picked up after the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Makino. What's up?"

"Oh. Nishikado-san."

Was it just his imagination, or did she sound distinctly displeased with him? Maybe he had done something to Yuuki without realizing it. "Umm, Makino? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. It depends on whether planning a _party_ to celebrate someone's losing their _virginity_ is wrong. You tell me, Nishikado-san."

Ah. So that was it. Oh, Makino Tsukushi – adorable as ever. He could agree with Rui's opinion that she was definitely cutest when angry. "Oh, did you have fun?"

"Nishikado-san!"

"I don't mean the party, of course. I know you had a great time then. I mean –"

"Nishikado-san, tell me why you called this instant or I'm siccing Tsukasa on you."

That was not a particularly appealing prospect. He had some amount of confidence about being able to hold his own against Tsukasa normally, but Tsukasa defending Tsukushi's honor? Perish the thought. "No, I was just wondering if Yuuki-chan was okay."

The surprise was obvious in her voice. "Yuuki? Yeah, she's fine. I just saw her yesterday. She and I went out to dinner, and Shigeru and Sakurako tagged along, too. You know how they are. Hmm… she did drink a bit much. Is that what…?"

"No – how would I know about that?"

"I don't know. You're the one calling to ask if she's okay."

"She just hasn't called me in a while." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could unsay them. Shit. This was not going well.

"Oh, yeah, that's good."

Brutal honesty, at least in matters unrelated to her own romantic situation, was one of Tsukushi's best qualities. He appreciated it greatly, most of the time. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? I was just a little concerned."

"Hmm. You're a decent guy too, Nishikado-san."

Oh, he couldn't let that stand. "Hah. I don't know where you get these ideas, Makino. F4 doesn't allow decent guys within our ranks."

"Rui's decent."

"And Tsukasa's not? Are we going through that kind of mess for the nth time? Oh, no, if we have to kidnap you guys again…"

"Oh, shut up, Nishikado-san!"

They argued back and forth for a few minutes more. Fighting Tsukushi was great. It was like plugging into a battery, or maybe a nuclear power plant. By the time he hung up, he had mostly forgotten why he had called. He left his phone on his bed when he went out for a ride on his bike.

There were times when even he was allowed to want to be alone.

XXXX

Someone tell me if Soujirou is too much of an angstmuffin. He'll be getting worse as this goes on.

Although what might be even more helpful is if someone knew what Soujirou's younger brother's name is. I picked Keizaburou to keep the number thing going, but substantiated information would be great. Also, is Shouichirou being named Shouichirou manga canon or dorama canon?


	3. The Sins of the Father

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: I am not entirely certain what Soujirou calls his mother in the original Japanese (my scanlations suck ass). I'm pretty certain it's either haha-ue or okaasama, as Nishikado-mama is the kind of proper parent who calls her son Soujirou-san. If anyone knows, or (wonder of wonders) has Japanese raws of HYD or something similarly excellent so they can tell me, PLEASE DO.

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

Vocabulary: There's just a little bit, I think.

-**san**: a polite suffix added to a name. But you knew that. What you may not have known is that some very traditional mothers use this suffix on their own children's names.

**Haha-ue**: a respectful term of address for one's own or someone else's mother.

**Seiza**: kneeling politely on the ground, with a straight back and no swaying. Doing this for any amount of time is true torture and takes practice.

**Shouji**: a sliding screen door.

**Ii hito/ii otoko**: ii means good. Hito means person. Otoko means man. An ii otoko (or an ii onna, for that matter) is a good-looking, attractive person. An ii hito is, as we would say in English, a good person. Interpreting from the terrible scanlations, Soujirou makes this distinction about himself in the original manga.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

This was getting ridiculous.

How long were they going to keep fighting like this? He wondered why he had ever wished for his mother to grow a spine and stand up to his father. Right now she was giving Doumyouji Kaede a good run for her money.

No, that was unfair. He loved his mother. And no sane human being had ever felt anything for that old bitch, whose blood relation to a pair of basically decent human beings like Tsukasa and Tsubaki was an ongoing miracle, other than hatred and terror. Although he had heard that Tsukushi got along relatively well with her these days, that was the exception that proved the rule. Sane human beings, indeed.

Soujirou loved his mother – he just wished that she would stop _screaming_ at this particular moment in time. It had started out with the fact that some Swedish guy with a camera had recognized his father in a Stockholm club with a blonde on his lap and sold the pictures to a Japanese tabloid. It was frankly ridiculous. Did the old man seriously think that just going to a foreign country was protection enough against paparazzi? The naïveté was shocking, and more than a little embarrassing.

What was worse was that the Swedish cameraman hadn't bothered to blackmail the family first. That would have been a situation they could deal with. As things were, the buzz would die down in a week or so, but until then, his father would have to stay in the house.

And that meant fighting.

"It's because you're such a bad example, doing things like this, that none of the boys turned out quite right!"

_Ouch. Low blow, haha-ue._

"What the hell are you talking about? You've had more of a hand in raising them than I have!"

"Only because you're never here! Always with your _whores_ –"

"Don't talk like that! What kind of woman are you?"

"The kind who would raise three sons for a man who's never been faithful to her! Now Shouichirou-san is gone, and Soujirou-san will never listen to a thing I tell him, and Keizaburou-san is –"

"And what's wrong with Soujirou? He's doing just fine! I've seen his grades and his tea ceremony, and at the last board meeting he –"

"One would think he would have calmed down a little now that he's twenty years old, but it's the same thing with the women, a different one every night –"

"Let the boy have his fun. He's young, and –"

"And how are we supposed to get him married like this?"

Soujirou, who had been sitting seiza all this time while pretending not to exist (escape had been forbidden by both parents towards the beginning of the argument), blinked. Keizaburou, who was sitting next to him looking utterly miserable, glanced at him quickly and then looked away.

"Oh, we can wait on that," said Soujirou's father, with a short sharp laugh.

"Of course we can wait, but it's a matter of his reputation."

"He's a fine boy."

"You would think so. After all, he's exactly like you."

That hurt. Before he knew it he was on his feet and stalking out of the room, slamming shut the shouji behind him. It wasn't until he was in his room that he felt like he could breathe again.

Just like his father. Didn't she have the faintest idea how it hurt to be told that? He hated his father – even the man's defense of him this afternoon had just been protection of his own behavior. His mother was a good woman, even if she did say cruel things around the old man, and to be told he was exactly like the person who betrayed her so terribly every chance he got –

He didn't cry. He hadn't done that since he was very young indeed. The only exception was that one bright morning when Yuuki had shown him the truth, and that had been an experience so far away from his normal life that he could hardly count it as something that had happened to a person like him.

Yuuki. Why didn't he call her? He didn't have to tell her anything about this. She would cheer him up, just like she would for anyone. Maybe he could treat her to some coffee at a nicer place than she'd normally go to. It would be fun. He would be able to forget if he was with her.

His hand was already searching his phone book before he realized that it was a bad idea.

It would be very easy to rely on Yuuki in situations like this. But it wouldn't end well. It couldn't. He was human, and he might think he felt for her for a little while, but in the end he would betray her and she would be hurt. He refused to do that to any girl, let alone her. There could be no promises, no commitment, and absolutely nothing like love. And he firmly believed that she was the kind of person who needed those things.

He called Akira instead, but the other boy didn't pick up – come to think of it, he had a lunch date with some actress well into her forties right now. Soujirou approved. The woman was damn hot. Tsukasa was reachable, but apparently with Tsukushi right then, so he was distracted and only marginally helpful. Rui was next, and that turned out to be the conversation he needed, just going along in the other man's logic-free conversational flow and letting that quiet voice calm him. By the time Soujirou hung up, he was smiling again. Sometimes he loved them so much.

After all, it wasn't that he didn't need love. He had plenty of that, and he realized it at times like these. Akira, Tsukasa, Rui – they were all the people that he needed. If the world ended and he was left only with them (and some hot girls, and Makino to keep Tsukasa bearable), he would be able to do just fine. If you added in Kei and his mother and possibly, just possibly, Shouichirou and his father, you had seven whole people who he loved.

That wasn't a number that needed to go up any higher. He was fine.

It was Sunday afternoon, a little more than a week since he had called Tsukushi, two weeks since the party. The sakura would be blooming soon enough, which was a good thought. He thought about just seeing Yuuki, talking to her as friends could talk. He wouldn't bring his feelings into it, or let her console him. He would entertain her. There was no peril in that.

The next day, he went to see her at her college.

XXXXX

It had taken some time, at least two hours, for his security team to find out her class schedule. Seriously, he didn't know what he was paying these people for.

She went to an average-to-well-ranking college, a little bit out of the way, but with a nice campus. He was pretty sure it was close to her house, too. It wasn't particularly near to his.

A bunch of people stared when he drove up in the motorcycle, and when he took his helmet off he _thought_ he heard shrieks from some of the girls. That was dangerous. He didn't really want to bring a crowd. If she were seriously angry with him for something, it would be better to get her alone. So he went to stand in the shadow of a building, watching the entrance to the building where he knew she had her Introduction to Economics class.

She came out soon enough, chatting with three other girls and smiling with all the brilliance of the sun. He smiled a little to himself. So she was fine. What had he been worried about, again? This was Yuuki. Whatever reason she had for not calling him would evaporate the moment she saw that he had come to see her. She would be happy, definitely.

Despite thinking that it was a good five minutes (during which she fortunately stayed put, talking with the others) before he managed to leave his hiding spot to greet her. He had made three steps, with hardly any hesitance at all, before –

"Matsuoka-san!"

It was a guy, just _running_ up to her. Soujirou frowned. Hadn't the idiot any dignity at all? The other girls scattered, giggling, and there was a blush on Yuuki's face obvious even from where Soujirou stood.

"Hirota-kun," Yuuki said. Her smile seemed amplified. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just saw you so I wanted to run over and say hello. How are you?"

"Good – really good!"

"Did you get your exam results back?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"How'd you do? I bet you did great, Matsuoka-san."

"Hirota-kun!"

Soujirou appraised the other man with a quick and experienced eye. He was relatively tall and good-looking. He was dressed conservatively, for a Tokyo college student, but with a certain amount of style. He looked – friendly. Friendly, and innocent, and sweet… not unlike Yuuki herself. Soujirou knew a wolf when he saw one – like could recognize like, after all. This boy was no such thing.

He watched them leave together. It seemed that they took the same train home. Well, that was good. One worried about a girl like Yuuki taking the train home alone, especially during rush hour like this.

He had thought of a lot of reasons why she might not be calling him anymore. It seemed he had ignored the most obvious possibility. Well, that was silly of him. This was great. He had wanted nothing more for her than to find a good guy, that elusive ii hito who would make her happy. She didn't – she absolutely did not need an ii otoko, a good-looking guy who would bring her nothing but pain.

It was a little sad that she wasn't calling him anymore. He had thought that there was something to their relationship other than plain attraction. Well, it was probably hard for her too. He had never given her an easy time, even after all that she had done for him. This wasn't her fault. Fault? That wasn't even the right word to use. Nothing bad had happened.

This was exactly what he had wanted.

XXXXX

Read and review, please! Feedback is the fuel of future chapters.


	4. Rejection

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: A long chapter this time. I'm trying not to go too overboard with Soujirou's denial issues, but it is _hard_, because they are _deep_.

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

Soujirou had decided that the Eitoku college dining room was too loud. It was bizarre that he had never noticed before. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure what to do about that fact, or why he was the only one who thought so, or why Akira kept giving him odd looks. Now even Rui had started it, which was disturbing. Giving Rui odd looks was a fundamental part of Soujirou's life, and he didn't want any switching places now.

"Yo, Soujirou."

Tsukasa was so loud sometimes. Soujirou sighed. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Nah, it's just… just now, a couple of girls came up to talk to us, and you kind of didn't pay attention to them."

"Are you fucking with me? Were they hot?"

Rui and Akira looked at each other. "Yeah."

"Pretty hot."

Tsukasa, who had never been expected to provide an opinion on female attractiveness, snorted. "Tsukushi is –"

"You're just singing her praises all the time these days because she finally let you into her pants, Tsukasa," Akira said. "I mean, no one denies that she's a really great girl, but you get fucking tiresome sometimes."

"I do not," growled Tsukasa, looking mulish.

"Yes, you do," said Rui. "It's kind of silly. We all have a pretty good appreciation of Makino's good points. I think that I in particular –"

Miraculously, he saw Akira shaking his head behind Tsukasa's back. Even more miraculously, he subsided.

Tsukasa, fortunately, seemed not to have picked up on anything. "Although I kind of get why you guys were all obsessed about sex now."

Everyone stared at him, and he reddened. "Don't – don't get me wrong, it's not like I get how you can fuck people you don't even know! I still think that's sick, it's just… when it's with her, it's… it's kind of… fun."

There was a moment of silence, and then the three of them started to snicker, and then to laugh, until they were almost falling off their seats. Tsukasa even started smiling, too.

Ah, monogamy. It was apparently the one thing with the capacity to get Tsukasa interested in sex. As his one of his best friend, Soujirou was sometimes shocked by how different they were. He couldn't contemplate being as committed to a girl as Tsukasa was to Tsukushi without first having at least seen how she was in bed. What if Tsukushi had been terrible? Well – if amnesia, about thirty other suitors, and Doumyouji Kaede couldn't keep the two of them apart, a little thing like sexual incompatibility wasn't going to manage it.

Still, the idea of two virgins trying to get it on frightened him. Soujirou had been a virgin once (ages and ages ago, of course), and if his first girlfriend hadn't been three years older and already experienced, even he might have had problems. He was pretty certain that women preferred it when the man knew what he was doing. He had been Yuuki's first, and he had thought that that was –

Oh, no. He refused to spend any time remembering _that_. Yes, it had been a fun time. Yes, she had been adorable and sexy like only a virgin could be. Yes, he had been a little bit happy to be her first but that did not, by any means, mean that he could keep thinking about it. She had certainly been fun, for a virgin, but she wasn't anything to top some of the really dedicated sluts Soujirou had known. Experience mattered, after all.

Although if Yuuki practiced a little with that new boyfriend of hers, she really might be –

"Ack! Damn it, Soujirou, what the hell?"

He had somehow managed to spill his soda all over Tsukasa's lap. "Oh – shit, man, sorry. You okay?"

"I liked these pants, asshole!"

"Calmly, calmly," Akira interjected, with the particular smile of his he used only on Soujirou and Tsukasa when they were fighting. Soujirou loathed the fact that it actually worked. "At least it's just on your knee, not the crotch. That would have sucked."

"Soujirou, are you okay?" Rui asked, echoing Tsukasa's question from earlier.

Soujirou grinned at him. "Yeah. I said I was."

"But you haven't made any jokes about Tsukasa and Makino in at least –" Rui checked his watch. "In at least an hour."

"And you never spill shit, either," Tsukasa said. "You're not what I'd call clumsy."

"Are you sick or something?" Akira asked.

He felt a little hemmed in by all the concern. "No, I'm fine. Seriously. Haven't I been talking?"

"Not really."

"It's fucking weird."

"Normally we can't shut you up."

"Oh," Soujirou said, trying not to remember what he had been thinking about so hard. "Sorry, I hadn't noticed. Huh."

He almost missed their worried glances at each other. Akira spoke first. "Umm… something didn't… happen, did it?"

"Something? Like what?" Oh, shit. Yuuki had told Tsukushi about that guy, and Tsukushi had told Tsukasa, and Tsukasa had told everyone, and now they were completely misunderstanding.

"We heard, you know."

"You don't have to hide something like this from us."

"What are we friends for, if not to be here for you when things like this happen?"

Soujirou felt a kind of panic. "No, it's really not –"

"Look," said Tsukasa. "We know your dad has always been like this, and it's always been tough on you. But he'll be gone as soon as the whole thing blows over."

"Just try not to think of it, you know?"

"We'll go out again with you tonight. Akira got the numbers of those girls from earlier. Maybe you could call them."

His father. Of course they thought that's what it was. They kept up on the society pages – although this particular story had apparently bled over into the business news, too. In fact, they were probably right. That was probably what had him so worried. He must have been under more stress than he had thought from all the fighting in his house. It was a reasonable explanation for his slightly dazed state.

That was if he ignored the fact that he'd been acting like this since two weeks before his father had come home, and that he hadn't even spent a night at his own house since then, and that he hadn't really thought about his father since yesterday, when he had gone to see Yuuki at her school –

Ignoring those facts? That was starting to seem like a very good idea.

"Soujirou?" They were all looking at him. To anyone else they might have looked like they always did – Tsukasa slightly scowling, Rui expressionless, Akira cheerful – but he could see the concern in their eyes.

"I'm all right, guys. I just don't like it when he's back here."

There were nods all around. "All right, so we'll all meet tonight at that new place."

"Which one?" Soujirou said, his curiosity piqued. New clubs meant new faces meant new ways to drive away the bad thoughts.

"What's it called – Case?"

"Case," confirmed Rui. No one asked how he knew.

"And then there's that party this Friday," said Akira. "The one that the Ayanokouji family is having. Are you guys going?"

"Yeah."

"I'm bringing Tsukushi."

"That's a good idea. She needs to get better adjusted to these things," said Soujirou. "Someday she's got to start turning up to parties dressed appropriately, without getting assaulted during the course of the night."

Tsukasa frowned. "You're right. All right. I'll get her the dress tomorrow, and then I'll stick with her all of Friday. I can't trust that girl to get somewhere on her own."

The worst part was that Tsukasa was right, for once. How many times had social events and pre-arranged meetings ended in disaster for Makino and Tsukasa? And usually over the stupidest misunderstandings, too. Soujirou, as a bystander, had been driven half mad by –

Oh, wait.

Yuuki and that guy – he had seen them talking. He had seen them smile at each other and go home together because they lived in the same direction. And simply on that basis, he had decided that they were going out together. It was ridiculous. Hadn't Tsukasa done the very same thing time and time again? And Tsukushi had never once been cheating on him when he'd thought she had. It suddenly seemed obvious that Yuuki probably hadn't given up on him after all.

That was a problem, of course, but what could he do about it? It was her life, and her heart to dedicate to whomever she wanted. She probably hadn't called because she had been busy with a part-time job or something – maybe the dango shop was doing particularly well right now. He might as well find some time to see her, cheer her up a little.

"You know, I think I'll ask Yuuki-chan to come to the party, too," Soujirou said. "She could probably use the distraction."

"Oh, that's not a bad idea. Should we get Sakurako and Shigeru to come, too? They're fun, at least," Akira said.

"Shigeru?" Rui asked.

All heads turned. "Yeah, what about her?"

"Nothing," said Rui, returning to his food without another word.

There was no explaining him, sometimes. Soujirou said, "They're probably coming anyway, those two. It's a pretty big event."

"Yeah, that's true. Hey, you should get Yuuki-chan a dress to come in," said Akira.

Tsukasa nodded. "Commoners can't be trusted on things like this."

"Ah, Tsukasa," Soujirou sighed, patting him on the back. "Do us all a favor and don't mention that around Tsukushi when you call to get her to come."

"What? Why not?"

Deciding to leave the explanations to Akira, Soujirou picked up his cell phone to call Yuuki. He felt oddly light-hearted for the first time in a while. Well, of course – a big party like that couldn't help but be fun, all the more so if everyone would be there. He hadn't seen Shigeru and Sakurako in a while, either.

Yuuki – his fingers remembered the combination of keys to call her so quickly, the physical feeling of his fingers on the keys as familiar as the way breath felt entering his lungs. And the ring tone in his ears was almost pleasant, especially when it suddenly stopped.

"Hello?"

"Hey there."

"Nishikado-san!"

He almost laughed. She did have a nice voice. "How are you, Yuuki-chan?"

There was a pause. "I'm – I'm doing fine! And you?"

"Same old, same old. I haven't talked to you in a while."

"Really? I guess I've had a lot of stuff going on. I took some extra shifts at the dango shop, for one."

Exactly as he had thought. "Are you working this Friday night?"

Another pause. "This Friday…? No."

"Ah, that's great. There's this party that we're all going to. Makino's coming too, unless Tsukasa manages to really fuck up the act of inviting her. So we'll all have to hope that doesn't happen. Anyway, it'll be really fun. I think Shigeru and Sakurako might pop up too." Why was he talking so much? He could just have asked her, without all the extra words. Bizarrely enough, his hands felt a little sweaty, and he could swear his heart was going faster than normal. Akira had to be right. He was getting sick.

"Umm… but, Nishikado-san…"

"Oh, do you need a dress, or something? Don't worry. I'll take you shopping beforehand if you have time."

"No, that's not quite… umm."

He felt an odd kind of heaviness in his chest, like a weight just about to drop. "Yuuki-chan?"

"Well, it's just that I already have plans for Friday night."

"Yeah?"

"Kind of… date-type plans. With this guy I know… Hirota-kun."

"Oh?" There wasn't anything wrong with his voice, was there? He glanced quickly at his friends, but they hadn't seemed to notice anything. He just felt as if there should be something wrong with his voice. How strange.

"Yeah. We're kind of going out."

"Really? That's good, Yuuki-chan. Tell me – is he as cute as you are?" He was pretty sure he had used exactly these words the last time a girl of his acquaintance had gotten a boyfriend. If he used exactly the same words, there wasn't a problem.

"Nishikado-san!" She sounded as if she were blushing.

"Sorry, sorry. I tease you too much, don't I, Yuuki-chan? Anyway, I'll see you another time, then. You know you can call me if you ever get too bored." Oh, _shit._ He had meant – if she got too bored in a general sense, not bored with her boyfriend, who did _seem_ boring, but who was he to judge, but – _shit _–

"Okay! Thanks for asking me, Nishikado-san. I'll see you around!"

"Yeah, later!"

"So she can't come?" said Tsukasa, who had apparently been paying at least a little bit of attention to the conversation.

"Nah," said Soujirou, very calmly. "Apparently she got a boyfriend."

"Wow, little Yuuki-chan did?" Akira whistled.

"Dumbass. We actually all met her that way, remember? That thing with that fucktard guy who made me punch him. Nishi-whatever." Tsukasa frowned, apparently remembering.

"Nakatsuka," said Soujirou. "I think it was Nakatsuka."

'Think' was sort of a relative term in this case. 'Know with absolute certainty' might have been more accurate.

He still remembered everything that had happened that night. He remembered the way she had looked crying on the street when he found her, and the words he had used to comfort her, and the things she had said in exchange. He remembered how good it had felt to play the hero, how Nakatsuka's miserable face had curdled with fear. He remembered thinking that he would never go so low as to lie to a woman, and that no man should ever be so despicable as to treat a good girl like Yuuki that way. He remembered her smiling once everything was done.

They were such good memories, among the best of his life. He wasn't a good guy, and he hadn't really ever thought of helping someone before her. But she deserved it, and he had been right to tell her, at the end, that she had to find a better man someday.

A better man than Nakatsuka, and a much better man than Soujirou himself.

Good, he thought. This is so – good.

XXXX

That evening, he did the one last thing he had to do. He called Tsukushi, exchanged a few pleasantries, told her not to mind the less than delicate way Tsukasa had invited her to the party on Friday.

And then he said, "Yuuki's boyfriend…"

"Oh, you heard?"

"Yeah. It's really good for her."

"Right? I mean, frankly, I thought she was never going to get over you, Nishikado-san. This is so excellent!"

"Yeah, it has been a while," Soujirou said, vaguely. Why did Tsukushi have to be so honest? A little bit of courtesy wouldn't hurt, would it? Fucking commoner bluntness. He hoped she and Tsukasa's inevitable horde of curly-haired brats inherited all of their parents' lack of social skills, times ten. "I just wanted to check with you to see if you thought he was decent."

"Hirota-kun? Yeah, he's fine. He's a really nice guy. Apparently he works two jobs to supplement the family income, because his dad's pretty sick. Oh, and you'll never believe this. It's so cute. Yuuki's his first girlfriend, it seems. They're pretty similar, the two of them. So innocent!"

"Hey, you don't get to talk, working-class virgin," he teased.

"Ah, shut up, you. Anyway, why do you ask?"

"I guess I still just think of her as being pretty vulnerable to bad guys. You know, considering the way we met."

"Oh, yeah, that's true. What, you're not sad that she's not after you anymore?" Tsukushi didn't mean this question to be taken seriously, judging by the tone of her voice.

"Ah, Makino, you wound me. The very implication that the numbers of women after me might be significantly affected by the loss of one is –"

"Right, right," she laughed. "Fine, then. I have to go to work right now. I guess I'll see you Friday."

"Yeah. Don't kill Tsukasa before then."

"It's hard, okay? I'm not making any guarantees."

"All we ask is that you try!"

"Uh-huh. Later."

A nice guy. A sweet and innocent and hard-working guy – a guy like Yuuki, and nothing like Soujirou. She would be fine. She would be smiling, the next time he saw her, because she had a boyfriend who liked her so much. She would smile with perfect bliss reflected in every movement she made.

Soujirou went to bed early that night, earlier than he had in years, sometimes disturbed by the sound of his phone vibrating on the bedside table. He slept without dreaming, waking in time to see dawn.


	5. Violently Alive

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: This is the combined Soujirou angst/F4 friendship chapter. Not that there won't be any more of either of those in the coming chapters – it's just pretty concentrated in this one.

Also, I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I had to go on medical leave from school, which was a fairly involved process, and I haven't been able to concentrate on much else lately. Also, the eighth chapter of this fic is a fucking bitch, mostly because the new character introduced in it is, in fact, a fucking bitch. But anyway, for the time being enjoy violent!Soujirou. I did!

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

Vocabulary: Two words.

Wafuu: Japanese-style. For instance, a wafuu breakfast entails soup and rice and fish.

Waka: "Young master." Has a rather yakuza-ish feeling to it.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

"Nishikado-san, do you come here often?"

"Nishikado-san, I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Nishikado-san, can I get you a drink?"

"Nishikado-san, sit with us for a while!"

"Nishikado-san!"

"Nishikado-san!"

He'd been here for about five minutes and already he had a crowd around them. Somehow the usual comments – _it's been a while, Ami-chan!_ and _what's your name, sweetheart?_ and _you girls all look so _cute_ tonight _– weren't coming out, but at least he still had the smile on, the invincibly charming smile that kept them glued to his side.

But he didn't really want to socialize tonight. He had gone to class today after waking up at dawn, and then spent most of the evening at a tea ceremony event, studiously avoiding talking to his family. It was after ten o'clock now, and though the night was young, all he wanted was to get laid.

Well, that wasn't going to be hard. His eyes roved over the girls swarming him, performing a quick calculus of beauty and willingness. One girl, in a low-cut black dress, stood out. She was holding his arm, but silently. He liked the hint of mischief in her eyes. She didn't look like an innocent.

He slid his hand through her hair, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. "Why so quiet?"

"It's a little loud in here," she said, smiling. "I wasn't sure you'd hear me."

"Want to go somewhere less noisy?"

Simple and direct was the best tonight. If she didn't want him that way, she wasn't getting him any way at all.

But her smile – she really was pretty – only widened. She let him lead her towards the back of the club. He grinned at the other girls to dispel their moans of disappointment. It wouldn't do to alienate any of them.

He knew where he was going. The little room off the corridor behind the bar, the room with the couch, was still unlocked. As soon as the door was shut behind them he had the girl up against the wall and was kissing her, faster than she was ready for, almost forcing her mouth open. By the time they separated, she was breathing hard.

"W-wow… Nishikado-san…"

"Hey, what's your name?" He wasn't sure why he was asking. It wasn't like he wanted to remember it.

"I'm… Yuna, but…" The words were coming out of her mouth in gasps because he had his hands on her ass, raising her body up so he could kiss her neck. She was a small girl, and light. It was so easy to hold her like this, his mouth moving ceaselessly on all the skin it could reach. Pleasure – pleasure was so easy.

His hands had already lifted her skirt when it occurred to him that he might want to proceed on the couch, not against the wall. But it was at least five steps away, and he needed this so badly. He needed this small body to yearn for him, the pale skin to flush for him, the full mouth to seek his.

It was all over before he could think. He wasn't exactly sure he had asked her for confirmation of her consent before the deed itself occurred, and it was a small miracle that he'd remembered the condom in his pocket, but judging by the look on her face, she was well satisfied anyway. He spent a few moments leaning against her and the wall behind her, breathing hard.

It had been good. It had been what he wanted. But he couldn't stay here a moment longer, in this tiny room, with this small, pretty girl. Why hadn't he noticed that she was so – no. He wouldn't think.

Fucking hell. She had short hair.

He glanced down at her. "Thanks."

"No, thank you!" she said, with a brilliant smile.

Why did she have to smile like that? She hadn't looked so cheerful out under the shifting lights of the club. "That was really fun. I'll see you later."

She blinked. "What…?"

He kissed her – just a brush of lips against lips – and was out the door as soon as he could get his pants zipped up.

His chest felt tight, and something was odd deep in his guts. This was anxiety. He knew the feeling. When his mother's birthday had loomed close and he had waited to see if his father would arrive – when he had watched Tsukasa and Tsukushi move away from each other, from what they needed – when his body had moved above a girl, while he thought of someone else and watched the clock as the sun rose over Tokyo Tower –

He sighed, running his hands through his hair as if he could get rid of the memories just like that. He really needed a drink.

Thirteen shots later, in a different bar, the world was a much simpler place. He wasn't sure he had ever had so much so fast. From the way the bartender was looking at him, she was about as shocked at his speed as he was. Well, variety was the spice of life, or something along those lines.

He made it out on the street before any of the girls who had been eyeing him could approach. The city was bright and loud at this time of night. A young man and woman brushed past him, arm in arm, and their laughter was like an itch in his ears.

"Ridiculous," he said out loud, and immediately became unsure what he was talking about.

"You talking about us?"

Three men – big frames, flashy suits, terrible hair – had apparently thought he was referring to them.

Soujirou glanced at them. "No… but it would have been true if I had been."

Even as he said it, he wondered. Did he have any real reason to want to fight right now? He couldn't think quite straight. It wasn't like these guys had done anything in particular to him. He wasn't like Tsukasa, for whom punching people was a form of therapy. But – why not – he was in such a bad mood – these bastards looked worthless anyway –

Even with the alcohol clouding his senses, it was easy to dodge the punch the first one threw at him, and to throw one right back, which connected to the guy's nose with the most satisfying of crunches. He danced back to avoid the other two as they tried to rush him, leaving one vulnerable to a knee in the gut. That one fell down with a cry of pain, and he kicked him once more while he was down, for safety's sake.

The last guy stepped back – what was he thinking? Soujirou could probably run faster, and he wasn't letting any of them away from a fight that they had started. Three steps forward were enough to let him punch the man once, twice, three times in the stomach, until the punk fell down against him. When Soujirou grabbed at his collar to hit him in the face, he was pleased to see the blood seeping from his mouth.

He felt like he really understood Tsukasa for the first time in his life. Of course it was good to hurt when nothing else would change for you. A fist could connect with a lip and split it open, and a foot in the gut could make a bruise. He needed something to yield.

"Soujirou?"

Speak of the devil – or think of the devil – whichever it was, that was definitely Tsukasa. And Rui, and Akira. How interesting – all three of them at once. And Rui and Tsukasa were holding his arms – oh, because he'd still been punching the guy. Right. That made sense.

"Good move, guys –" he muttered. "It would suck if I did too much damage, like Tsukasa always does… if the newspapers heard my parents would _kill_ me…"

"What the hell, Soujirou?" Someone was yelling – ah, Tsukasa. Of course. "What did these guys do?"

"I think you broke that one's nose," Rui said, pointing at the one he'd hit first.

"Wa… waka?" One of the injured guys was getting up, slowly, and looking at Akira. "Waka, is this man one of your friends?"

Akira peered at him. "Oh – Sumida. I didn't recognize you guys. You shouldn't be picking fights."

"We weren't, waka – well, not really – that guy's just –" He seemed to swallow his words, just blurting out, "Scary!"

"Eew, Soujirou," Rui commented. "Your breath smells. How much did you have to drink?"

"You guys clear out," Akira was saying. "Ask Morimoto-san to handle the medical bills. Don't think I'll be so nice about you getting into a fight the next time, either."

"Y-yes, waka –"

They seemed to leave very quickly.

"Are they… wow, Akira… your family really is something… else," Soujirou said, or tried to say. "Fucking… scary. Kind of. But cool."

The three of them were all looking at each other with different kinds of grimaces. Tsukasa said, "When's the car coming, Rui?"

"It should be here soon. Five minutes, maybe."

"It's lucky we found him," said Akira with a sigh. "We were going to meet him just across the street – if he wanted to get drunk, he couldn't have waited?"

"This isn't like him," said Tsukasa, voice dark. "I don't know what that family of his is doing –"

"Oh, let's be fair," said Akira. "It's hardly like it's all of them doing it. Just that fucking old man of his –"

"Fathers," said Rui, quietly.

"Not this time…" Soujirou tried to explain. They all looked at him, but again he had the distinct sense he was slurring too much for them to understand anything. "This time, it's… I don't know… not about that bastard…"

"I just don't get when he turned into you, Tsukasa," Rui said.

"I don't act like this!"

"Yes, you do. And probably on less provocation – Sumida has too much of a fucking temper," Akira said, with a little bit of harshness in his voice.

Soujirou shifted in distress. It was the worst when that tone came into Akira's voice. Akira was so hard to mess up – not like Tsukasa, not at all like Soujirou –

"Oh, shit, don't throw up," said Tsukasa, in anguish. "Not the shoes, you bastard –"

"Wow, he's really been getting you lately, hasn't he?"

"Fuck you, Rui!"

"Look, guys, the car."

Ah, Akira. He knew how to take care of them. In that spirit, Soujirou would buy Tsukasa some new shoes tomorrow. It was a little girly, but maybe they could even go get them together. And it was nice of Rui to pat his head like that. Rui was great.

He needed them. He didn't need anyone else, no one at all –

Not her –

"Oh, shit," someone said. "And now he's passed out."

It was true.

XXXXX

He woke up to brilliant morning light and bright pink lace.

It took him at least three minutes to figure out where he was, but that was because he was tired. The stuffed animals on the table next to the bed should have been a dead giveaway.

This was – which guest bedroom? The one next to Akira's room. So if he yelled –

"Yo, Akira!"

"No need to scream, you fucking lush," Akira said, entering the room. "No hangover?"

"You know I don't get those."

"Yeah, but if there ever was a time, it was last night. I don't think I've ever seen you that drunk before."

Soujirou grinned uncomfortably. "Yeah, I drank kind of fast."

"How much, and how fast?"

Tsukasa and Rui had appeared behind Akira, both frowning.

"Oh, you guys. You stayed over, too?"

"That means too much, too quickly, doesn't it?" Rui said, his doll's eyes fixed on Soujirou.

There was no real sense in denying it. They wouldn't fall for any of his tricks. "Yeah. It probably does."

"Do you want to talk about it?" said Akira, sitting down on the bed and pointing him towards a pitcher of water and a glass on the bedside table.

Tsukasa and Rui followed his lead. It was a little like being children again, when they would sometimes all sleep together in one bed, viciously resisting any adults who tried to separate them. Tsukasa's minders, in particular, had had a slightly higher rate of workplace accidents than Chinese coal miners.

"I don't know. I've just been in a bad mood lately," Soujirou said.

They stared at him, waiting for more elaboration.

"It isn't about my old man – or maybe it is, a little. But honestly, I can't figure it out myself."

"And…?"

"Nothing's happened to you…?"

"You were totally pulling a Tsukasa."

"Rui!" exclaimed the man in question, lunging for him.

"It's kind of true," Akira said contemplatively, ignoring the scuffling on the other side of the bed. "Running around the city getting into fights – that's classic Tsukasa behavior."

"At too, Akira!" cried Tsukasa.

Akira ducked the punch and continued talking. "It's et tu, Tsukasa. Yeah, anyway, obviously we'll be concerned if you keep acting like this."

"I'm fine, guys. Believe me."

"Hmm…"

"Well…"

"I don't," said Rui. "You're not telling us something."

Soujirou felt his amiable smile turning into a grimace. _Fuck you, Rui_. "It's really hard to say, even myself. I've just been feeling like I've been coming down with something, and then I drank a little bit too much, and… well, probably anyone can pull a Tsukasa when they're that wasted."

"So you _are_ sick," said Akira triumphantly. "I told you guys."

Sick? That would account for the sweaty palms and the racing heart – although that had only happened once. Oh, who was he fooling? He wasn't sick. It was just something of a blow to his ego that Yuuki had moved on.

For once Soujirou felt a little bad for his own arrogance. It wasn't strange for a girl who had fallen in love with him to fall out again, especially as he had never, ever encouraged her. It wasn't strange, either, that he should feel a little bit pissed about it. It was just a shock to his confidence – and that, combined with being forced to listen to his parents lay into each other like they had when he was a kid, had driven him to quickies, alcohol, and Tsukasa-style rampaging.

That made perfect sense, indeed.

Or – wait. Oh, no, _wait_. This could all be a setup.

Yuuki wasn't a devious girl, but she had some devious friends – Sakurako came to mind. Could someone have instructed her to ignore him for a while, or find another guy, and see how he reacted? That made _so much sense_.

"Soujirou?" Akira said. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. More than fine."

She was playing him! She was totally playing him, and he had – well, he hadn't fallen for it, of course. It was terrible advice to try something like this, because even if he had rushed to her demanding an explanation (as if he would ever have done something like that), it wouldn't have meant that he had any kind of feelings for her. Yuuki was like – a sister to him. Like Shizuka without the vague sense of unreality, or Tsubaki without the violence, or even Makino without the weed superpowers. It would have been disturbing, of course, to be ignored by any of those people.

Yuuki was his friend. He was overjoyed that she had moved on from him, even if she was totally just faking it. He was going to wait until she came to her senses and realized that that didn't mean that they had to break all ties with each other. It couldn't be that long now, and then things would return to the way they always had been.

Soujirou smiled. A waiting game? He could play that.

"Umm, Soujirou?"

The other three were all staring at him. Had one of them asked him a question or something? He hadn't really been paying attention.

"Yeah? What's up? You know, I'm really fucking hungry. Let's not eat here – Akira, your mom and sisters are going to jump you if they see you. Who wants a good wafuu breakfast? We'll go to that place, you know the one –"

He saw them breathing sighs of relief at his recovery, and felt exactly the same way. The world had regained a little of its sparkle.

XXXXX

Soujirou's obliviousness may be a little over-the-top, but I'm pretty sure this is in character for him. He does not believe in even the _possibility_ of what you're likely reading this fic in hopes of: a happy monogamous ending. Let's see if he gets one, hmm?


	6. Resolve

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: I am SO SORRY about how late this is. There are a number of complicated RL reasons for my tardiness, none of which are probably very interesting to you guys. Anyway, thank you so much to all the people who wrote encouraging me to continue – I really appreciate it. And again, sorry.

About the chapter itself, welcome to Yuuki's POV! Yuuki is about three thousand times harder to write than Soujirou, which is why she's only getting one chapter in her POV for about every five of his. And it's a short chapter, too. Poor Yuuki.

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

Vocabulary:

**Obasan:** "aunt", or a polite term of address for any middle-aged woman.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

Yuuki hadn't quite finished putting on her makeup when the doorbell rang. "Oh, no – why does he have to be early?"

The clock still read 5:52, and she had told him six. Well, it was sweet – but as far as she was concerned, everything about him was.

She swabbed on the rest of the mascara with desperate haste, nearly stabbing herself in the eye with the wand. Downstairs she could hear her mother greeting him, asking him to sit down. In three seconds she would call up here –

"Yuuki, he's here!"

"I know! I'll be right down!"

She stuffed the wand back into the tube and nearly threw it onto the bag she had just grabbed off the bed. She checked the mirror one more time – her hair was cooperating for once – and flew down the stairs.

"Hi, Hirota-kun!"

He practically leapt out of his seat on the couch. "Matsuoka-san!"

"H-Hi!"

"Hi!"

There was a supremely awkward moment, which Yuuki's mother mercifully broke by asking, "So where were you guys going to go tonight?"

"To that Italian place," Hirota Iori said, cheerfully. "Do you know the one, obasan? Near the train station?"

"Oh, that one's been around a while, hasn't it? My husband and I went there when we were college students, you know."

"Mom!" Yuuki protested, blushing.

Iori was blushing too. "Umm –"

"Oh, go on, you two," Yuuki's mother smiled tolerantly at them. "You don't want to miss your reservations."

They walked for a little in silence, the gathering twilight a pleasant companion. Yuuki thought several times of starting a conversation, but it was hard to think of what to say, and besides, she was comfortable enough with this boy that she didn't really need to force a conversation.

Comfortable – that was the word for him, and for this relationship. He had asked her out in the fall, too, after having known her for most of the year, the first of college for both of them. She had turned him down then, for the specific reason that Nishikado Soujirou had put his hand on her back to guide her into a room two weeks before.

But something about the winter had drained the resolve from her.

There was nothing unpleasant in her life, nothing at all, except for the grayness of the days and the falsity of his smile. She started to wonder where her strength had gone, until she finally realized that no amount of determination would change things. Even if she punched a rock until she bled, it wouldn't break for her, and Yuuki was already as bruised and bloody as she could stand to get.

The worst part was that she _knew_ that he didn't mean to hurt her.

He was so kind – so much kinder to her than he was to almost any other girl. He was never nice to Sakurako, and Shigeru might as well have been a boy to him, and he saw Tsukushi only as Tsukasa's Makino. Girls besides them – she knew the limits of what they could be to him. She had gone beyond that, so far beyond, because he returned her calls just to talk about their days, even if he never took the initiative to contact her himself. Having anything from him, even if it was his friendship, made her feel lucky, even happy, especially on those days when he looked at her so gently.

She mattered a little bit to him, and for a while it was enough. She had given him something no one else had even known he needed, and so she was his friend, friends with the man she loved so terribly much. He was honest with her, except for the fact that he didn't mean it when he smiled. He did things, like asking her to a party as he had done just this week, that sometimes gave her such dreadful feelings of hope.

But it was like trying to live eating nothing but rice. If there had been anything, anything else – if he had only touched her a little bit more, talked to her a little longer –

She looked at Iori, walking besides her. He was smiling to himself, but once he noticed her gaze, he turned the full force of that grin on her. It was, for a moment or more, as if she was the only person in his world.

She smiled back, and hoped that it meant as much to him as it did to her.

It would not be long before she stopped thinking about Nishikado Soujirou so very much. She knew that people often fell out of love by acting like she was. As long as she didn't have to see him very often, or talk to him on the phone, she would be able to change her own heart, and make herself someone who could be nothing more than his friend. She would be such a good friend to him. Once her feelings changed, she could allow herself that.

"What're you thinking about?" Iori asked, shyly, startling her.

"Oh!" She wavered for a moment, and then decided on a half-truth. Lying outright to Hirota-kun made her feel _terrible_, and Yuuki wasn't any good at it anyway. "Just about an old friend of mine I haven't seen in a while. What were you thinking about?"

"Well…" He blushed. "You."

She blushed back. When he felt for her hand, she curled her fingers around his in what she thought was the right way. She hadn't held hands with a boy in such a long time.

The restaurant was full of couples, and it was nice just to blend in among them, to talk about school and the food and other people they knew. She always laughed when she was with him. For all his meekness (how had he managed the courage to confess to her twice, anyway?), he had a great sense of humor.

By dessert she felt much better than she had at the beginning of the evening. This was what a date should be. Talking, laughing, eating good food – feeling comfortable and safe and valued – what more could she ask for?

As they were getting up to leave, she tripped on a leg of the chair, and he caught her. It was sweet of him. But even when she looked up at his face, bright red but still handsome and kind –

There was nothing. She felt nothing. When she talked to him, she felt no burning, painful need for him to like her. When he touched her, always so innocently, she never wanted him to go further. When he looked at her, she felt no doubt of herself and no desire for him. She might have _felt_ more from any conversation with Tsukushi.

It wasn't – unpleasant. But even Yuuki knew that it was not love.

They talked this time on the way back to her house – he wasn't the kind of guy to let a girl walk home in the dark alone. She liked that about him. She liked, also, his hands with their long fingers, and the slight wave to his unbleached dark hair, and the way his voice caught when he looked at her. She liked – probably everything about him. It was hard to understand why that couldn't be enough.

When she got back to the house, she smiled at her mother, and talked on the phone to her sister (_married_ now, and to a boy she had met in one of those clubs, and living so far away in Osaka). She felt – happy, a little. How could she not? Spring was coming soon.

When she was lying in bed that night, so very ready to sleep, she said aloud as she had every night for the past month or more, "I have moved on. I am no longer in love with Nishikado Soujirou."

_Tomorrow_, she thought. _Tomorrow, I promise it will be true._

XXXXX

Welcome to denial, the Yuuki version! Is she acting as cute as she should be? Does anyone else like Hirota-kun as much as I do? Do you hate him for being an obstacle to the True Love? Also, review if you have the time!


	7. The Problem with Loneliness

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Yori Dango. I sure like it, though, even in its utter cracktastitude.

Author's Note: As you will realize if you remember the reason why Yuuki couldn't go to the party, this chapter takes place basically simultaneously with chapter 6. It's Friday night.

With this we should get back to a regular update schedule. And special thanks to Trinity, not just for a very detailed review, but for giving me a good idea. Mwhahahahah.

Summary: He wanted her to move on. He just never thought of what would happen if she actually did. SoujirouxYuuki, manga and dorama based.

Vocabulary:

**Chichi-ue:** a respectful term for one's own or someone else's father.

XXXX

**Uninevitable**

A Hana Yori Dango Fanfiction

The Ayanokouji house was brand new – Soujirou suspected them of holding the party as much to show it off as to celebrate their daughter's engagement – and gorgeous, even to his jaded eye. It was enhanced, too, by the sight of the well-dressed people making their way from chauffeured cars to the double-height front door, by the golden light streaming from each enormous window, and by the faint sounds of the live orchestra they had put somewhere inside. The crowd was fairly young, for this kind of thing. Soujirou smiled. He had been in need of a break.

He saw Sakurako just before going inside, her manufactured good looks shining like the sun in the midst of the crowd, and offered her his arm. He still suspected her of having masterminded Yuuki's avoidance of him, especially considering the smile she gave him when she saw him, but there was no point in being rude to a lady. Besides, something in him still rebelled against the idea of provoking Sakurako. She could be _scary_ when she wanted.

"So, are the others coming tonight?" she asked once they were inside, plucking a glass of champagne off a passing waiter. "I haven't seen any of them in a while."

"They should turn up. Tsukasa has to get Makino here, which is probably going to be complicated."

"Yes, that poor, dear girl does have a genius for destroying her own opportunities, doesn't she? She ought to feel privileged just to be able to attend a party like this one."

He grinned at her. By this point, he knew she didn't mean it – she was as loyal to Tsukushi as any of them were, and somewhat fiercer to boot. "Sure, sure. I'm certain they'll turn up on time, so don't worry too much."

She sniffed, but seemed reassured anyway. "What's this party for, anyway?"

"What, didn't you read the invitation?"

"No. Just the place and time and dress code. Who cares about anything else?"

He laughed. "Well, apparently the second daughter is getting engaged."

"Oh, yeah – to that guy –"

"Ezawa Yorihisa." Soujirou had read the invitation.

"That's the one! Wow, what a mismatched pair, huh?"

"Is it?"

"Well, Ayanokouji Misato-san is… one couldn't call her a beauty, but she's not particularly uncute, is she?"

"Misato-chan? No, I used to date her. She was in our year, but at Eirin."

"There you go," said Sakurako, nodding. "And – let me tell you – Ezawa Yorihisa? Ick. Just ick."

"Well, the Ayanokoujis do want to expand into telecommunications. It makes sense from a business perspective."

"Yeah, but I'd just _kill_ myself if I were her. Her parents must have made some bad financial decisions lately if they're actually making her do this."

"Hmm…" Soujirou glanced around and spotted the couple. He recognized Misato immediately – he'd been with her (but of course, no _just_ her) at least a month during his second year of high school. She looked prettier now, though that could just have been because of her fiancée, who was standing right next to her. Looking at the man, Soujirou suddenly felt intensely grateful that one of his many gifts was beauty. "I see what you mean."

But that was the way engagements worked. Your parents found someone, and you were either lucky or unlucky in the partner, and lucky or unlucky in how soon they expected you to go through with it. Soujirou had at least made his parents promise that they wouldn't try to make him marry anyone he wouldn't have slept with normally – then again, he'd been fourteen when he had told them that. He hoped they remembered.

"Nishikado-san! Sakurako!"

Tsukushi had arrived on Tsukasa's arm. Both of them were, somewhat miraculously, dressed, groomed, and smiling. Tsukushi in particular – she cleaned up _so_ well. Sometimes he envied Tsukasa.

"Looking good, Makino!" he said, smiling teasingly. "Did he have to drug you to get you into that dress?"

"No," she said, snippily. "And don't bring up bad memories, either."

"Tsukushi, you know you looked hot in that dress. And if I hadn't seen that you had the potential to look so good, I might never have –"

"_No bad memories_, Tsukasa."

Sakurako giggled. "Oh, you two. You never will get along."

She was saved from both of their wrath by Rui, Shigeru, and Akira's arrival.

"The coat check line was so long," Shigeru complained. "It was good that Akira-kun and Rui-kun let me skip ahead of them."

"Let you? You call that letting you, you crazy –" Poor Akira was already red in the face from even a limited amount of Shigeru.

"I didn't mind," said Rui, politely.

"You never mind anything, do you? That's why –"

"Doumyouji-san!" A middle-aged couple – Ayanokouji Nobumasa and his wife, the party's hosts – were bearing down on Tsukasa. "And all of you! What a pleasure it is to see such a lovely group of young people!"

Ever since the news had leaked that Tsukasa had taken up the management responsibilities his father's illness left him unable to fulfill, the group was always "Doumyouji-san and friends" to the old and connection-hungry. It was hard to mind it, especially considering how much it pissed Tsukasa off. Soujirou had a certain appreciation for things that pissed Tsukasa off.

"Why, is this the famous Makino-san?" the wife asked, a broad, false smile on her face. "How lovely to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you. Why, you're even prettier than I had expected!"

"They're really sucking up, aren't they?" Soujirou whispered to Akira.

"Commodity prices are high."

"Oh, duh," Soujirou nodded. Tsukasa had some control over that area, his mother had none, and the Ayanokoujis were manufacturers. Being nice to Tsukushi was in their best interests.

Tsukushi and Tsukasa were, thus, pretty thoroughly occupied dealing with a flood of compliments. With the distinct sense of having dodged a bullet, everyone else moved subtly away.

"Let's go dance, guys," Shigeru said, in an urgent whisper. "Come on. Let's."

"I like that idea," said Akira, but his eyes were skimming the room. Soujirou poked his side and nodded towards a pretty, well-dressed woman in her early or mid thirties who was looking terribly bored talking to a man recognizable as the head of a well-known mutual fund.

"Oh, no, you don't," Sakurako said, grabbing Akira's arm roughly. "I don't see any guys who are my type. You're not going anywhere until I do."

"Come on, Sakurako, don't be a buzzkill –"

"Nishikado-kun!"

It was Sonomiya-san, who owned that firm the Nishikados did business with. Soujirou immediately moved to greet him, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Sakurako had successfully dragged Akira off to dance, and that Rui and Shigeru were following with slightly more dignity.

"How are you, sir?" Soujirou said, bowing slightly. "It has been some time since we last met. It is a pleasure to see you in such good health."

"Such a well-mannered boy!" Sonomiya laughed. His face was red – he seemed to have been drinking quite a bit. "Just like your older brother, aren't you?"

Soujirou felt his smile crystallize. "I am honored by your praise, sir."

"But you're a responsible boy, aren't you? So maybe you're not so much like him after all. You look just like him, though…"

This might have been much harder if it was a new conversation at all, but Soujirou was used to all of it. "And how are you, Sonomiya-san? I've been hearing excellent things about your new investments in India."

This was enough to set the man off on a rambling and highly revealing discourse on all his recent business endeavors. Soujirou committed each slipped fact to memory. He would send an email to his father in the morning, telling him what he remembered. There was no reason to tell him in person, though the old man was still at home.

"So then I told the CEO, if you can call him that for a company so small, that he shouldn't even think of – oh, Miho!"

Soujirou turned. A girl in a blue dress had approached as if quietly waiting for acknowledgment.

"This is my niece, Miho," Sonomiya said, with obvious pride in her voice. "Cute girl, eh? She's in her second year at Kayama Girl's Academy now. Have you ever met Nishikado Soujirou-kun, Miho?"

The girl shook her head, bowing. "No, but I have heard of him. It is an honor to finally make your acquaintance, Nishikado-san."

Soujirou inclined his head. "The honor is all mine."

"Well, I'll leave you young people to talk," said Sonomiya. Soujirou could have slugged him. Did he think he was being subtle, doing something like this? "It was good seeing you, Nishikado-kun."

"A pleasure, as always," Soujirou said, bowing. Once the man was out of earshot, he turned to the girl, regarding her. Well – she was sort of cute, and it almost certainly wasn't her fault that she was getting set up like this. Besides, it wouldn't do to be rude to Sonomiya's niece. "Miho-chan, right?"

She nodded, smiling.

"And what have you heard about me, Miho-chan?" He gave her the lazy smile that worked so well with open-ended questions.

She blushed absurdly and began stuttering. "Umm…. Well, that you're… that you're… in F4. And you… have a lot of… girlfriends."

Oh, no. Not the sweet, guileless, virginal type. Well, there were a very few slightly worse things. "What's wrong? You sound a little scared, Miho-chan."

"I-I'm not! Really! It's wonderful just to get the chance to get close to you like this, really!"

Shit. She wasn't in love with him, was she? He wasn't going to flirt with her if she was going to get absurd about this. For one thing, it was just so _embarrassing_, for both of them. "Close? This isn't what I'd call close, Miho-chan. I mean, if you want to get _close_…"

She practically fainted at that one, but he resolved to stick with it. A little bit of flirting would send her away happy and satisfied, just like the Nishikados needed the Sonomiyas happy and satisfied.

But he wouldn't sleep with her, and he didn't think he was going to give her his number, either. He felt definite relief when a passel of girls he had known from Eitoku decided to swarm him and the flirting became a safely collective experience.

It wasn't that he had anything against virgins. He didn't. He had something against girls who wanted more than he could give them – a breed the members of which just _tended_ to be virgins. After all, he couldn't give any of them his heart (he didn't even know what he'd done with the thing, anyway), and he couldn't exactly marry all of them. His parents would give him a woman to marry. Because he was the good son and the heir, he would marry that woman. As long as she was pretty and didn't mind the fact that he had no intention of staying faithful to her, he didn't care who she ended up being.

He might have tried dating Yuuki if things hadn't been this way. But she was better off as his friend, the precious girl who had given him a precious memory. He could not encourage her. He couldn't call her, thought she might want to hear his voice. He couldn't be jealous, though she might want to know he cared. He couldn't fall in love with her, and he wasn't sure whether it was his heart that didn't have the capability or his mind that wouldn't allow it. It didn't matter.

Just like with F4, he would stay friends with her forever.

XXXXX

His father was at breakfast the next morning.

Keizaburou, who had gotten there first, was glancing back and forth between their father and their mother as if he was at a tennis match, although both of them were silent. This convinced Soujirou that something had happened before he entered the room.

It was hard not to feel nervous as he knelt at his seat. "Good morning."

"You're late," his father barked.

"No, he isn't," his mother snapped back. "And he was up late last night, anyway, going to that party the Ayanokouji's had. We were _supposed_ to go too, if I may remind you."

Soujirou tried to ignore them. To his parents, reprimands and compliments of the children were only weapons against each other. They meant nothing to him.

The food was excellent – had his mother cooked again? Twice in as many weeks had to be some kind of record for her. If he concentrated on the soup, even the silence became pleasant in its way, although he might have spoken to Kei or his mother had his father not been around. But as long as everyone kept their mouths shut, he would able to get through breakfast and escape for a ride on his bike as soon as possible.

"Soujirou."

Or not.

"Yes, chichi-ue."

"Your mother and I have something to discuss with you."

Neither of his parents was looking him in the eye. This was bad. He caught Kei's nervous glance and nodded at him, once, to tell him not to worry. "What might that be?"

"You're twenty years old now," his father began, a little hesitantly. "It's early, of course, to talk about settling down, but…"

_Shit. Old man, you couldn't possibly mean –_

"If you were a little more moderate in your… lifestyle, Soujirou-san, we would never have had to think of this so early," his mother added, in a scolding tone. She only ever talked to him like this with his father around to back her up. "But as things are…"

_What the hell? I don't want –_

"There's no point in beating around the bush," his father said. "Soujirou, we've found you a fiancée."

XXXXX

Predictable twist in romance fanfiction and shoujo manga #36: someone's fiancé emerges from the woodwork. How will our hero worm out of this one? Worm is probably exactly the word for it, too. Oh, Soujirou.

Leave a review or I'll cry and kill myself and worst of all not update. No, not really, but I wanted to try doing the emotional blackmail thing once. :


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